aes24 International Evaluation Conference

Authors: Awuor PONGE (African Policy Centre (APC) )

Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in Africa have long been marginalized and undervalued, despite their potential to offer sustainable solutions to pressing challenges faced by communities across the continent. This presentation explores the perspectives, challenges, and opportunities for incorporating IKS into evaluation practices that create value for both people and the planet.

From a people-centric perspective, IKS offer a holistic and culturally relevant approach to understanding local contexts, priorities, and value systems. By embracing these knowledge systems, evaluations can better capture the multidimensional nature of well-being, including spiritual, social, and environmental aspects that are often overlooked in conventional evaluation frameworks. However, challenges arise in reconciling IKS with dominant Western paradigms and navigating power dynamics that have historically suppressed indigenous voices.

From a planetary perspective, IKS offer invaluable insights into sustainable resource management, biodiversity conservation, and climate change adaptation strategies that have been honed over generations of lived experiences. Integrating these knowledge systems into evaluation can shed light on the intricate relationships between human activities and ecosystem health, enabling more informed decision-making for environmental sustainability. Nonetheless, challenges exist in bridging the divide between traditional and scientific knowledge systems, as well as addressing concerns around intellectual property rights and benefit-sharing.

This presentation will explore innovative approaches to overcoming these challenges, such as participatory and community-based evaluation methodologies, capacity-building initiatives, and cross-cultural dialogue platforms. By fostering a deeper appreciation and understanding of IKS, evaluation practices can become more inclusive, relevant, and effective in creating value for both people and the planet in the African context.

Authors: John Gargani (Gargani + Co ),Julian King (Julian King & Associates, NZ)

In this participatory session, we pose the question, "How should evaluators innovate the practice of value-for-money assessment to meet the needs of an expanding set of actors that include governments, philanthropists, impact investors, social entrepreneurs, program designers, and Indigenous and First Nations communities?" We begin by framing value for money as an evaluative question about an economic problem. How well are we using resources, and are we using them well enough to justify their use? Then we suggest new methods intended to help innovate the practice of value for money based on our body of published and current research spanning over 10 years.
These include new methods that (1) produce "holistic" assessments of value for money, (2) reflect rather than hide multiple value perspectives even when values conflict, (3) estimate social benefit-cost ratios without monetizing benefits or costs, and (4) adjust monetary and nonmonetary value for risk using Bayesian methods. Along the way, we facilitate discussions with participants, asking them to consider if, how, and by whom these innovations should be pursued, and what other innovations may be needed. We provide participants with access to a collection of our published and draft papers, and invite them to comment and continue our discussion after the conference.

Authors: Rhiannon Birch (Victorian Department of Education ),Hayden Jose (Urbis, AU),Joanna Petkowksi (Victorian Department of Education, AU),Ekin Masters (Victorian Department of Education, AU)

How can an evaluation balance the need to generate pragmatic insights while meeting central agency requirements for rigorous measurement of outcomes? What ingredients can facilitate the effective evaluation of a government initiative and achieve improved outcomes? This paper explores the essential ingredients for evaluating a large-scale government program using an example of a statewide initiative aimed at attracting and retaining suitably qualified teachers in hard-to-staff positions in Victorian government schools.

We showcase how an adaptive and evidence-led method of enquiry helped identify program implementation bottlenecks and probe potentially unintended program outcomes over a three-year evaluation. We discuss enablers for the integration of evaluation recommendations into program implementation and future policy direction, particularly on participatory action approaches and deep relationships with policy and implementation teams. We will also present the robust and varied methodology, particularly the novel use of system data to facilitate a quasi-experimental design that aligned with central agency requirements and met stakeholder needs.
This presentation will benefit policymakers, program evaluators, and others interested in evaluating government programs, by sharing key learnings on how evaluations can balance pragmatic insights with central agency requirements and identifying the key elements for influencing such programs and achieving improved outcomes.

Authors: Laura Faulker (NSW Treasury)

This paper presents the key findings from research and engagement on how cost-benefit analysis (CBA) has been applied to First Nations initiatives to date. CBA is an important tool used by governments to help prioritise budget funding decisions. It assesses the potential impacts of an initiative - economic, social, environmental, and cultural - to determine whether it will deliver value for money.

The paper explores the methods in which the value of First Nations cultures has been incorporated into CBAs, along with the associated challenges and opportunities to improve current practice. The findings have informed the development of an investment framework for the design and evaluation of initiatives that affect First Nations people and communities. The framework focuses on the key principles for embedding First Nations perspectives and ensuring culturally informed evaluative thinking.

Authors: Alli Burness (Tetra Tech), Lisa Faerua (Vanuatu), Nathan Sentance (Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, AU), David Lakisa (Talanoa Consultancy, AU)

In the inaugural ANU Coral Bell Lecture on Indigenous Diplomacy, Dr Mary Graham outlined a powerful legacy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander relational methods that have operated across a spectacular time scale. She envisioned a compelling future for its renewed application and spoke of these practices as a type of "thinking in formation, a type of slow, collective, and emergent process".

Inspired by Dr Graham's vision, this panel explores synergies, distinctions, and complementarities in local and Indigenous research methods across Australia and the Pacific. The panel features Wiradjuri, Samoan (Polynesian), Ni-Vanuatu (Melanesian) and settler-background (Australian) researchers from a range of fields who will explore, engage and showcase locally specific methodologies that connect across Australia and the Pacific continents, as ways of knowing, doing, and relating with the land, the moana (ocean) and air.

This session frames evaluation and research approaches as reflecting their contextual political order. While the panel will critique the legacies of individualist and survivalist research methods, it will focus on exploring the futures that relational research methods could realize. How do we evolve current institutional approaches to become more commensurate with Indigenous methods? Would institutionalizing these methods resolve the legacy, structure, and form of colonialist political approaches? Panelists will speak to their experience in working to evolve institutions in this way and the research and evaluation methodologies used within them.

The session also situates evaluation within a cannon of contextualizing evidence-based practices (such as political economy analysis, GEDSI analysis or feasibility.

Authors: Skye Trudgett (she/her) - Kowa, AU, Katie Stubley (she/her) - Griffith University, AU, Terri Reid (she/her), Chloe Wegener(she/her), Banok Rind (she/her), Sophie Spry (she/her), Niamh Kealy (she/her)- Wiyi Yani U Thangani Institute for First Nations Gender Justice, AU

Measurement and data does not need to be all about numbers—it is about our heart and spirits, it is about voice, story, emotion—it is about truth. Numbers can tell us all sorts of lies, Wiyi Yani U Thangani is and always has been about—your voice—what you are saying about your lives, how you see your future and what matters to you.' June Oscar AO, Chair of Wiyi Yani U Thangani Institute.
Quantitative data often dominate measurement and evaluation, yet true understanding requires tapping into the heart and spirit of communities. As June Oscar AO poignantly reminds us, it is the voice, story, emotion, and truth that bring depth to data. This session at the AES conference offers a hands-on experience that transcends traditional data collection, engaging participants in co-creating collaborative Impact Yarns through deep listening, yarning, and creative expression.
Join us in a dynamic workshop where sculpture and artwork become powerful tools for storytelling and knowledge sharing. Participants will learn to capture the nuanced experiences of First Nations communities, reflecting on how these creative practices can reveal the interconnectedness of our lives and contribute to systemic change. By integrating Indigenous methodologies, we will collectively explore the rich, qualitative data that emerges from individuals' lived realities and aspirations.
As we craft and shape our narratives, we will reflect on how these stories can inform and transform policies and initiatives. This immersive session is not just about creating art; it is about embodying the principles of gender justice and equality, respecting cultural heritage, and acknowledging the diverse ways communities envision their future.
Experience the power of collaborative creation, where every word spoken, and every form sculpted enriches our collective understanding of impact. This workshop is an invitation to step away from the spreadsheet and into a space where every voice contributes to a tapestry of change. Come, let us shape a more empathetic and embracing approach to measurement—one that values the stories and truths of all peoples. truths of all peoples.

Authors: Kathryn Erskine (Cube Group), Michael Maher (Cube Group, AU)

The session is intended to provide a practical example of how a traditional program evaluation was re-orientated to allow the application of findings to inform broader system transformation. This echoes current discourse in evaluation - particularly since the global pandemic - whereby traditional notions about how the field of evaluation is viewed and developed are being challenged (Ofir, Z. 2021). Specifically, there are calls to rethink and elevate evaluation practice to actively contribute to and support systems transformation (see Dart 2023; Norman 2021), beyond a narrow programmatic focus.

This session will illuminate this discussion by examining a mental health program evaluation in the context of significant service reform across the Victorian mental health system. The presentation will outline insights and techniques about how to lift and reconfigure a tightly defined program evaluation into one which can have broader application to the system ecosphere. It outlines how and why the pivot was made; changes we made to the methodology and the key benefits that arose from taking an expansive view of the sector in which the program operated within.

The design of the session will be a presentation format supported by a PowerPoint slide deck, comprising:
•    Introduction and purpose of session
•    Overview of the program we evaluated
•    Key challenges which required an evaluation 'pivot' - and how we worked with our client
•    Key changes made to the methodology
•    Key benefits from elevating from a programmatic to systems focus.

Authors: Allan Mua Illingworth (Mua'akia Consulting and Insight Pasifika) Fiona Fandim (Pacific Community (SPC), FJ), Eroni Wavu (MEL Officer for Pacific Women Lead at Pacific Community (SPC) and cofounder of the Fiji Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Community), Mereani Rokotuibau (Balance of Power Program, FJ) and Chris Roche (La Trobe University),

In recent years there have been a number of Pacific driven initiatives designed to promote monitoring and evaluation practice which is culturally and contextually appropriate. These have occurred with projects and programs as well as at national and regional levels. At the same time geo-political interest in the Pacific region has resulted in an increased number of bi and multilateral donor agencies becoming present in the region and/or funding development programs, local organisations, national governments and regional bodies. This has in turn led to an evaluation landscape where notions of 'international best practice' as well as donor policies and practices and associated international researcher and consulting companies, risk crowding out emergent Pacific led evaluation initiatives.

This panel will bring together key participants who are leading four examples of these Pacific experiences: the Rebbilib process initiated by the Pacific Community (SPC ), Insight Pasifika (an emerging Pacific led and owned collective focused on evaluation in the first instance): the Fiji Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Community and the Balance of Power program (a Pacific-led initiative, supported by the Australian Government, focused improving the political, social and economic opportunities for women and girls) each of whom are seeking to create space for processes of monitoring, evaluation and learning which are consistent with Pacific ways of knowing and being. They will share their experience, the challenges they face and ideas about what forms of support might be provided by international donors, consultants and advisors which are enabling rather than undermining.

Moderated by Prof. Chris Roche the panel and audience will also draw out the lessons from these four cases about what might contribute to more systemic change in the evaluation landscape more generally.

Authors: Skye Trudgett (Kowa), Rachel Kerry (CAGES Foundation, AU)

The philanthropic sector has long grappled with power imbalances inherent in funding relationships, particularly in the context of support for First Nations communities. This panel session explores a groundbreaking Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) approach that inverts traditional power structures, placing First Nations communities in the driver's seat to assess the adherence of a leading philanthropic organisation to their stated values and principles.

Drawing from the collaborative efforts of one foundation and its MEL partner, this session showcases a MEL model that exemplifies shared power and mutual accountability. The panel will consist of thought leaders from the philanthropic sector, First Nations community representatives, and MEL experts who have been at the forefront of developing and implementing this innovative approach.

Through a facilitated discussion, panellists will delve into the process of co-creating a MEL framework that empowers communities to evaluate the performance of philanthropists against a set of mutually agreed-upon criteria. This approach ensures that philanthropic actions align with community expectations, cultural protocols, and contribute to genuine and sustainable impact.

Attendees will gain insights into the challenges and successes of operationalising this community-centric MEL method. The session aims to inspire other philanthropic entities to reflect on their practices and adopt similar approaches that truly shift power to First Nations communities.